Naruto, Sasuke and Amaya hidden secrets reborn
by caitlin.kelsall
Summary: Naruto and Sasuke was living a happy life in collage but after a certain incident happened secrets and a new story is born...


Sasuke and Naruto stood in a middle of their newly rented but empty apartment. Since they both ended up going to the same university, (which was surprising considering the genius that was Sasuke and the not-so-smart Naruto) they decided to rent a cheap one bedroom apartment not too far from the university.

Naruto looked around with a smile on his face, while Sasuke stood in one place with his arms crossed on his chest.

"This place is so…small." He said still unmoving.

"It's better than the dorms." Naruto pointed out. Sasuke had no choice but to agree. He'd rather not spend his entire university life with people constantly coming in and out of his room. Asking him to socialise and go out to parties or whatever it was that normal teenagers did. The raven shuddered at the thought, and the blond noticed.

"Are you alright?" Naruto asked a tiny bit concerned.

"Yeah, it's just chilly." Sasuke shrugged not wanting Naruto to know what he was really thinking. Copying him Naruto shrugged too. "I still can't believe we rented this dump."

"Well believe it baby." The blond said with a wink, causing the raven to roll his eyes. "You know, moving in together is a big and serious step for our relationship. Should we get a double or king size bed?" Naruto continued to tease his best friend and now roommate.

"Naruto" the raven looked at him seriously. "Do you want a smack?"

"Well…" he began. "If you want to play it like that…" The blond winked again and burst out laughing.

"Forget it" Sasuke turned around and walked towards the front door.

"I'm sorry Sasuke." The blond stopped laughing at once, and ran up to the raven haired teen realising that Sasuke actually seemed pissed. Usually the raven just rolled his eyes or gave him a smirk or sometimes a slight whack on the back of the head. "Stop." He grabbed the raven by the hand, and received a death glare. "I was just messing about, you know that." He looked the raven straight in the eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked when the raven still wouldn't say anything.

"It's just…" Sasuke began and for a second thought he could finally tell Naruto what happened earlier today and nearly every day since he was four years old. The truth is, no one knew, not even Itachi. "Never mind." He sighed and decided that this really wasn't the right time or place to talk about it. Once they were living together there would be plenty of time in which he could tell the blond. "I just need to take a walk."

Sasuke walked out of the apartment shutting the door silently behind him leaving Naruto looking more than slightly worried.

Two Days, One Moving Van and a LOT of Arguing Later…

"Finally, this place looks like home." Naruto sighed as he sat down on the couch next to Sasuke, who appeared to be staring at the switched off TV.

"Actually, it looks nothing like my home. Thank heavens." Naruto chuckled slightly.

"Want to do something fun tonight?" the blond asked.

"What did you have in mind?" the raven raised an eyebrow.

"Well…" he began and smirked evilly which looked really out of place on the teen's face. "A party?"

"No" came the instant reply.

"A movie it is." The teen sighed as he placed his head on the others boy's shoulder.

"Actually" Sasuke gently pushed Naruto off him. "I'm really tired from the move and I think I'm gonna call it a night."

"Wait" the blond said before Sasuke could get up. "You've been acting differently lately. What's going on?" the raven looked at the floor. "Please talk to me."

Hearing Naruto this concerned had two affects on Sasuke. One was that he felt really bad. He wanted to tell the other teen what was really going on. He wanted to tell him the secret he's been carrying on his own for too long. The other half, wanted to scream at Naruto and tell him to mind his own business.

Unfortunately the latter won.

"Leave me alone!" he stood as quick as a bullet being fired. "It's none of your business!"

"How can you say that? We've been friends for thirteen years!"

"That doesn't mean I have to tell you everything that's happening in my life!" the raven hissed.

"I wish you would tell me _something_!" the blond snapped back before he could stop himself. "I know you have a brother who I've meet, what, six times? And I know your parents were murdered but…" he carried on without thinking.

"Don't you dare bring my parents into this." The raven grabbed Naruto by the collar. He was speaking through gritted teeth. Sensing he crossed the line, the blond apologised,

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." The raven shook him.

"If I want you to know, I will tell you." he let go of Naruto and started to walk away. "Back off." He muttered.

"Wait, please" the blond grabbed Sasuke by his wrist a little harder than he intended. Sasuke hissed in pain. The other's teen's eyes widened. He knew he didn't grab his hand _that_ hard. "What…"

"Don't start." The other teen cut him off before he could finish. He walked to their shared bedroom, rubbing his wrist.

The blond found himself in a similar position. Again, he was left staring after his best friend with a look of concern in his wasn't the smartest person in the world. In fact, his grades were a little below average. But that didn't mean he couldn't work out things in real life.

Like today for example. He was sat on his bed watching his best friend sleep peacefully on a bed on the other side of the room. Naruto wasn't that lucky. The events of last night didn't let him sleep.

He sighed as he looked at the alarm clock and realised it was 6 am. In fifteen minutes the alarm would go off and they would have to get up, get dressed for school and go to lectures. He also knew he was going to apologise to Sasuke again for last night and the teen would either shrug it off or ignore him.

The problem was, Naruto had some pieces of a puzzle, but he couldn't put it together completely. He knew Sasuke's patents were murdered. He knew his brother worked somewhere without going to university. He knew that Sasuke hated his guardian, Orochimaru for some unknown reason. And also that arm…

He didn't want to think the worst, or jump to conclusions but everything seemed like…

Naruto was brought out of his thoughts by the alarm clock.

"Ugh" he could hear Sasuke moan on the other side of the room. "What time is it?"

"6:15" the blond replied, switching the alarm off. It seemed that Sasuke forgot about last night. At least he was speaking to him. He figured now was a time as good as any to apologise. "Sasuke, about last night…"

"Its okay" the raven cut him off while getting up from his bed. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. Can we just forget about it?"

"Consider it forgotten." The blond smiled. Sasuke looked at him and smiled but not with his eyes. The onyx eyes were full of sadness and hurt. Naruto wanted to do something to make that sadness go away, but after last night, he figured he should give the raven teen some space.

Sasuke shuffled into the bathroom, not entirely awake yet. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. Looking into the mirror in front of him, his face turned into a scowl. Quickly, he turned away, jumped out of his pyjamas and hopped into the shower, wishing he could wash so many things away. However no matter how much soap he rubbed on his body, or how much hot water he used, he couldn't wash away the worthless feeling he felt whenever he looked into a mirror.

Chapter Five – Party Hard

Naruto was sat next to Neji (another survivor of Konoha-Leaf High who happened to go to the same university) in a business class they had together. Feeling really sleepy, he had trouble staying awake. He knew staying up all night was a bad idea, but it's not like he had any choice. Worry about his best friend was stronger than any other emotion, even the need for sleep.

Neji nudged him gently to keep him awake.

"What's the matter with you?" he whispered quietly.

"Ugh" Naruto moaned slightly louder than he wanted to. The whole class stopped and stared at him.

"Something to add, Mr Uzumaki?" the lecturer said, clearly annoyed that someone dared to interrupt his train of thought.

"No, sorry." He said quietly looking down at the business book in front of him. Once the lecturer went back to teaching and the class listened, Naruto leaned over to Neji and whisper to him.

"Just had a really long night, that's all." Neji nodded.

"Tough" he said keeping his eyes on the lecturer and taking notes.

"Huh?" the blond asked confused.

"You see, there is this 'start of the year' party and you and Sasuke are coming with me."

Naruto stared at his friend as if the other had just declared his undying love for pancakes. The blond knew that it was mission impossible to convince Sasuke to go to a party. The raven hated them. Saying that, Sasuke hated people in general. There were a few he tolerated and even fewer he liked.

Neji was not too different from Sasuke. Even though Neji had more friends, he still hated crowds and loud music.

"What the actual fuck is wrong with you?"

"What are you talking about?" Neji still didn't make eye contact with him.

"You? You want to go to a party? Neji Hyuga wants to go to a party?"

"There are about five more ways to ask that question." This time Neji looked at Naruto and smirked lightly.

"Okay, let's be serious for a second. You want to go to a party?"

"Naruto you ask me that one more time, and I swear that I will not be responsible for my actions. I have no idea how Sasuke can put up with you so much."

"Yeah, yeah, he's a saint. And I'm adorable." The blond smiled devilishly. The other teen just shook his head and returned to look at the lecturer. "Whose party is it anyway?"

"This guy called Kiba. There." Neji pointed to a brown haired teen sitting in the front row. Well sitting was a bit of a stretch. The guy was slouching. Tapping his pencil on the notepad in front of him. Looking like he REALLY didn't want to be there. Naruto smiled to himself. Looks like he was about to make a new friend.

"Okay, I'm in." Naruto whispered. "But you know it will take a miracle for Sasuke to say yes."

"Naruto, be the miracle." The blond had to cover his mouth not to burst out laughing. Neji just shook his head again and continued making notes on the lecture.

"No" the raven said simply as Naruto looked at him with puppy eyes sitting on the coffee table in front of him.

"Please!" he dragged to word out to emphasise.

"No" Sasuke repeated himself.

"Common, it's gonna be fun!" the raven glared at the blond. This wasn't working. Time to change tactics. "We had a rough couple of days, arguing a lot, I really think it will do us both some good to go to a party, and socialise and dance and drink…"

"I thought you said you will forget about it?" Sasuke raised a perfect eyebrow. "And you just described my idea of hell, you realise that, right?"

"Kinda…" Naruto admitted. "But I will be there too." He smiled innocently. Sasuke glared again. This wasn't working either. Time for plan C. "I promise we will leave the minute you want to go. Whether it's an hour into the party or five minutes, we will leave." The blond really didn't want to make this promise. He knew that now if the raven teen wanted to leave as soon as they had arrived they would have to.

"Can't you just go without me?" the raven suggested hopefully.

"No fricking way! It won't be the same without you!"

Sasuke sighed, but finally agreed. "Fine. We can go to the party."

"Thank you!" the blond practically jumped on Sasuke and hugged him tightly.

"Okay okay." The raven said as he gently pushed Naruto away.

"We got about half an hour to get ready!"

"Ugh…why did I agree to this…?" Sasuke asked rhetorically.

"You make me happy…" Naruto started walking towards the bathroom.

"Shut up before you start singing." The raven warned.

"…when skies are gray." The blond winked at Sasuke before he disappeared into the bathroom.

"Kiba this is Sasuke and Naruto. Naruto and Sasuke, this is Kiba." Neji introduced his old friends to Kiba who was standing with a gin and tonic in his hand. Kiba grinned and Sasuke was instantly reminded of the dobe standing next to him.

"Pleased to meet ya! And thanks for coming!"

"Thanks for the invite!" Naruto grinned at Kiba while Sasuke just rolled his eyes. He could put up with Naruto, but there was no way he could stand another one of them. The reason why he tolerated Neji was because the man was quiet and kept to himself.

At least that was what he thought until he came up with the dumb idea to go to this stupid party.

"I'm gonna get a drink." Sasuke announced as he walked away from the small group. No one seemed to notice. Good.

The raven walked to the table and raised his eyebrows. There was every kind of alcohol under the sun. Even Russian Vodka and Japanese Sake. Lager and Beer. Both kinds of wines. Gin and some other crap that he had never even seen or heard of before. _Kiba's parents must be rich or he must have a wide variety of friends_ the raven thought sighing internally.

Unsure of what to pick, he decided to go for the safest option. Beer. No shots or strange pretentious shit.

Turning around he noticed that two girls where evidently staring at him and giggling. When he looked their way they blushed and waved shyly. Sasuke hated this. He wasn't big headed but he knew that girls found him attractive. Wherever he went they would stare at him and try to get his attention and eventually number. The raven paid them no attention. He just politely –if there is such a way – told them to go away.

This time, he shook his head than took a sip of his beer. One of the girls – a pink haired punk girl – approached him.

"Hey" she said shyly.

"Hello" he replied not unkindly but clearly showing that he was not interested.

"Would you like to…" she blushed and couldn't finish the sentence.

"No sorry" he told her and looked away at the crowd of people dancing. He looked at Naruto dancing with Kiba and Neji. As much as the raven hated to admit this, the blond was a bloody good dancer.

"Fine" the girl stormed off clearly pissed off. Sasuke couldn't care less.

Well, he couldn't care less until a very angry guy stormed up to him and grabbed him by the collar.

"What the fuck?" Sasuke couldn't help but be surprised.

"You trying to seduce my girlfriend you asshole?" the guy shook him.

"What are you on about?" the raven tried his best to stay calm and not show the other guy how nervous and _scared_ he felt.

"That girl over there." He pointed with his other hand. It was the pink haired punk. Fuck. She obviously feed her big muscled boyfriend some lies about what just happened.

"It's not like that…" Sasuke tried to reason, but it wasn't working. He never saw the fist coming. He just felt the sharp pain as it made contact with his face and sent him flying to the floor.

"This party rocks!" Naruto shouted over the music to Kiba.

"Thanks dude!" The other teen grinned at him. They both instantly started liking each other. Screw the whole "opposites attract". Kiba and Naruto were almost identical in personality. Saying that, Naruto and Sasuke were best friends…so maybe that rule wasn't so dumb…

"What you thinking about so hard? It's a party!" Neji brought Naruto out of his thoughts. The blond realised that he was staring blankly while dancing. Well, that must have definitely looked weird.

"Nothing important." The blond shrugged and smiled at Neji.

"So, same as usual." Neji teased him. Naruto just chuckled and shook his head.

He looked around until he saw Sasuke standing on his own, drink in hand. Of course he was alone. It's not like he would make the effort of socialising. Naruto was just about to walk up to him, when a big muscled man beat him to it. The man grabbed Sasuke by the collar.

"Oh-uh" Naruto said and stopped dancing. He made his way to the raven as quickly as possible, which wasn't very quick at all. It seemed like all the people were determined to get in his way.

"Move!" he said as he pushed them out of the way not caring what they might think.

He was a mere meter away from Sasuke when he saw the punch. The raven was sent to the floor. The muscled man walked away smiling.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted as he ran the final short distance to his friend.

Sasuke didn't even try to get up. He just sat there on his knees looking at the floor. Both of his hands resting on his knees. If no one saw the punch, they might have thought that Sasuke was just sitting because he was tired.

Naruto collapsed onto his knees next to the raven.

"Sasuke! Are you okay?" the blond touched the punched cheek gently. Sasuke winced in pain but still made no effort to move or speak. The blond looked at his eyes, which were just staring through everything and everyone.

This was the first time Naruto saw him like this and he hated it.

"Common, we're going home." Naruto helped Sasuke to his feet once he decided the raven was going to sit there forever otherwise.

The party was still in full swing. It seemed like no one noticed what happened. The blond thought this was a good thing. Sasuke _hated _being the centre of attention.

They both walked out of the party not saying anything to anyone. Unsure that Sasuke could walk on his own, Naruto didn't let him go. The raven didn't protest.

The blond was very concerned. Not as much as the fact that Sasuke had been punched, but his reaction to the punch. He knew Sasuke should have fought back, or at least done _something_ instead of sitting there like he was dead inside.

Chapter Six – Haunted

**Come crawling faster**

**Obey your master**

**Your life burns faster **

**Obey your master**

**Master**

_"Now, now Sasuke, don't lie to me. You did this on purpose, didn't you?" Orochimaru stood in the middle of the living room. His arms crossed across his chest and he was tapping his foot in impatience._

_"Uncle, I swear it was an accident!"_

_"You've had a lot of them lately. First it was the window when you were playing football with Itachi. Then it was the lamp in the bathroom. I still have no idea how you did that." Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. "And now this" the older man pointed to the broken vase. "You fucking, spoiled, ungrateful brat." Orochimaru hissed through clenched teeth. _

_"But…" Sasuke tried to argue. He was close to tears but wouldn't cry._

_"No fucking buts!" Orochimaru screamed. "You are asking to be kicked out! I'm so fucking fed up with you!"_

**Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings**

**Twisting your mind, smashing your dreams**

**Blinded by me, you can't see a thing**

**Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream**

_"I swear it wasn't me!" Sasuke wasn't lying. He had no idea why the vase got broken. He had an inkling that Orochimaru broke it himself, just to find another reason to scream bloody murder at him._

_"Shut the fuck up!" he never saw the slap coming. Just a blur of motion, and a sharp pain, that was already spreading across his face. "You are fourteen years old! Stop lying just to get out of trouble you fucking coward!"_

_"I swear I'm telling the-" another slap cut him off. _

_"Don't you dare say another word." The older man gained his composure. His voice was firm, no longer screaming._

**Master, master, where's the dreams that I've been after?**

**Master, master, you promised only lies**

**Laughter, laughter, all I see and hear is laughter**

**Laughter, laughter, laughing at my cries**

_Sasuke didn't dare respond or even move an inch. _

_"Now" Orochimaru smiled slyly. "As always, you won't tell Itachi about this, will you?" Sasuke shook his head. "Because if you do" he leaned in and whispered into the raven's ear. "I will _kill_ him. Got that?" This time, Sasuke nodded his head. Orochimaru straightened out and walked away laughing harshly. _

Sasuke's eyes snapped opened. He was panting and sweating heavily. His cheek hurt and for a second the raven thought it was because of what happened in the dream. He touched it gently and remembered it was because of the stupid party.

He sighed a slight sigh of relief as he realised it was just a dream. Yet that dream had not been a figment of his imagination. It was something that had really happened to him a few years ago.

It was okay now, Orochimaru couldn't hurt him anymore. He lived with Naruto now. Naruto. Sasuke listened carefully for a second and could hear the other teen breathing deeply. Naruto. The only person who kept him sane in all of this.

Maybe he should finally tell him…But how the _fuck_, do you start a conversation like that?

Another flood of memories washed over the raven. He couldn't help it anymore and despite the fact how much he hated it, how much it went against his pride, the youngest Uchiha broke down in tears. He buried his head in the pillow and sobbed quietly.

After a short while he heard a soft voice next to him. Naruto.

"Sasuke? Are you…crying?" the voice sounded so concerned it made Sasuke want to cry harder. He didn't give a reply. He _couldn't_ give a reply. He hated showing his weakness. He was taught that showing weakness equals a slap or…worse. Even though he knew Naruto would never hurt him, he still couldn't bring himself to admit it to the blond. "Why are you crying?" again, no reply. He felt a gentle hand stroking his back as the blond sat on his bed next to him.

The raven had no idea how much time had passed. It felt like _hours_ to him and he just couldn't stop his tears from coming. All the time he'd been crying, Naruto was sat on the bed next to him, stroking his back and not saying another word.

Naruto woke up around eight am. It was a Saturday, so no need to get up for school.

He turned his head and saw Sasuke lying on his side next to him. The raven looked so peaceful. So…perfect. The blond smiled, and almost blushed at the thought.

As quickly as his smile appeared it had disappeared as he remembered what happened last night. The awful party. The punch. The way Sasuke looked as if his soul had been stolen. The way he was woken up by the sound of his best friend crying. Fuck.

Naruto got up gently, not to wake up the raven. He figured that the other teen had been through so much over the past day, he should just let him sleep today.

As he got up, Sasuke stirred slightly, but didn't wake up. After he showered and got dressed the blond called Neji as he walked through the front door of the apartment.

"Hello" a voice greeted him on the other end of the line.

"Hey Neji. Where are you? I really got to talk to you."

"You know that Starbucks near your apartment? Meet me there in ten minutes."

Naruto smiled to himself. "Thanks man" and Neji hung up.

"I just don't know what to do anymore. I want to help him and all, but I don't want to force him into telling me." Naruto sighed and put his head in his hands. "I just wish he'd open up to me."

"Naruto, you know I'm not good at giving people advice. I believe in destiny. What is meant to happen will happen." The blond groaned. "Let me finish you impatient twit." The insult earned him a snort which he decided to ignore and carry on. "I was just about to say that you should leave it. If Sasuke wants to talk about it, he will tell you. If you try to pressure him into telling you, you will end up pushing him away."

The Starbucks was nearly empty, which was really surprising considering it was a Saturday morning. Both of the boys were sat at a round table, two hot coffees in front of them. The blond sighed again. He really didn't want to tell Neji that Sasuke cried. He knew that it would be hard for the raven if anyone else knew. He didn't mention the punch either. It was all too personal. Still Naruto felt that if he told Neji all of that, the brunet would offer him some other advice. The blond decided to keep it as his last resort.

"How are you doing?" Naruto looked up at Neji and changed the subject, feeling that he might say too much if he's not careful.

"I'm…fine…" the brunet said nonchalantly.

"That doesn't sound fine to me. Spill." Neji rolled his eyes.

"It's just…there is someone I like…" Naruto's eyes opened wide.

"Are you serious?" the brunet never admitted to a crush before. Ever.

"…but I don't think they feel the same way about me."

"Have you told them how you feel?" Neji gave him a disapproving look. "I'll take that as a no. Who is it anyway?"

"That doesn't matter. Speaking of liking someone, my cousin still has a crush on you."

"That cute girl Hinata?" Neji nodded. "You told her that I'm not interested?" Another nod. "In a nice way, right?"

"Always"

"Good. I don't want to hurt her feelings, she seems so shy and sweet, but I just don't feel the same way."

"Naruto, when was the last time you had a girlfriend?"

"I can't even remember…"

"You spend so much time with Sasuke; soon you'll be calling him your girlfriend."

"Oh shut up Neji."

"Denial, denial." The brunet shook his head in mock disapproval. Naruto had the urge to smack him round the head but stopped himself.

"Getting back to the topic, who do you like?" Naruto smiled with a fox like grin.

"I am not telling you!" Neji crossed his arms and Naruto laughed.

"Soon you shall!" Neji rolled his eyes and the blond laughed again.

Chapter Seven – Everything's Wrong

Sasuke stood in the middle of the bathroom. The shower was on but he wasn't ready to get in yet. The whole apartment was silent. The only noise was the shower pouring down water next to him. He woke up this morning with Naruto gone. The raven couldn't help but wonder what the other teen was up to. He just left without saying a word or leaving a note…

Sasuke shook his head. Naruto was allowed a private life. He didn't need to know where the other teen was all the time. After all, it's not like they were going out. The raven felt his cheeks heat up suddenly. The more he thought of Naruto the hotter they became. His Uchiha pride refused to acknowledge that he was blushing. Instead he tried to reason that it was VERY hot in the bathroom with the shower running.

Taking a deep breath, the raven took a look at his half naked body. He was still covered in bruises; they didn't have enough time to fade away. He touched one of them gently. Then with more force wishing they would disappear. He took another deep breath and looked into the mirror. He's face didn't look half as bad as he expected it to. Yes there was a bruise on his face, but at least his eye wasn't swollen. A bruise he could deal with. He had to deal with them for as long as he could remember. Except for the fact, that they were usually in a place where no one could see them.

Still not feeling ready for his morning shower, he looked at his hand now. On his wrist, was the bracelet Naruto gave him for Christmas all that time ago. He never took it off; it always reminded him of the blond idiot. Beneath that bracelet was a faint pink scar, but the young Uchiha refused to even _think_ about the cause of it.

"I still can't believe I cried in front of that dobe." He said to himself closing his eyes. Then he heard the phone ring. Quickly, turning off the shower, he ran to the living room in nothing but his pyjama bottoms. He picked up the phone on the fifth ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey little brother! It's Itachi." The voice on the other end of the line said.

"Hey Itachi" Sasuke said. He couldn't help the smile forming on his lips.

"How have you been?"

"You know, the same as usual."

"Could you elaborate?" the older Uchiha asked while Sasuke sighed internally.

"Everything's fine." Sasuke lied. Itachi knew straight away.

"Don't lie. I can tell by your voice." Sasuke sighed again. This time, out loud.

"I don't really want to talk about it over the phone…" the raven admitted.

"I could come visit you? It's been a while since we saw each other. How does Wednesday sound?"

"Great, I don't have many lectures on that day."

"You should tell Naruto to come too."

"Do you miss that big idiot?" Sasuke teased. A familiar laugh came from the other end of the line.

"Like mad" he said sarcastically. "I just haven't seen him in a while too." Sasuke smiled again. Trust Itachi to care about people so much.

"Fine, I'll make sure he's gonna be here. You got our address?"

"Of course. See you Wednesday!"

"Bye" Once he hung up, Sasuke entered the bathroom and finally stepped in the shower.

Naruto was on his way home from Starbucks when he saw a familiar figure. Kiba was walking a big white dog while whistling.

"Hey Kiba!" the blond called out.

"What's up?" Kiba asked grinning as he approached Naruto.

"Not much. Cute dog. Yours?" Naruto matched Kiba's grin.

"Yeah, he's name is Akamaru. I've had him since he was a pup."

"Doesn't Aka mean red in Japanese? Dude the dog is white." The blond smirked.

"Shut up wise ass. I like that name." Kiba rolled his eyes.

"Alright then."

"Hey, I was meaning to ask, why did you and Sasuke leave my party so early?" Thank God he didn't see the punch. Now he had to think of a good cover story. Instead he said the first thing that popped into his head.

"Sasuke erm…he felt ill, so I took him home."

"Right…" Kiba nodded slowly. Even to Naruto that lie didn't sound convincing.

"Well I better be going." The blond decided it was best to go before he said anything else. "Sasuke is still feeling ill, so I better not leave him on his own for too long." Good going Naruto, make the lie longer. That'll convince him. "See you Tuesday."

"Tuesday…?" the brunet asked slightly confused.

"In class" Naruto smiled and started walking away with his hands in his pockets.

"See ya" Kiba called after him.

The blond entered the apartment. It was after nine, so he was pretty sure Sasuke was already up.

"Hey, I'm home!" he called but got no reply. He walked further in and realised the living room and kitchen were empty. He went to the bedroom which was empty too. That's when he heard the running water. Well, that left one more place where the raven could be.

He knew it was probably a bad idea to invade the other teen's privacy when he was in the bathroom, but at that moment he didn't care. Firstly, for some strange reason, he really wanted to see Sasuke. After he heard him crying last night, he wasn't sure that the raven was really okay. Secondly, he hoped Sasuke would shout at him and eventually it would turn into a big joke. Right at this moment, he would have given his right arm just to hear the other teen laugh.

Naruto knocked on the bathroom door and walked in without waiting for a response.

"Hey I'm bac-" he couldn't finish his sentence. The blond felt his heart stop as he saw Sasuke. He was dressed only in a towel around his waist, leaving his chest bare. Sasuke was looking back at Naruto with wide eyes. At once, the blond saw the bruise on the raven's face. Then the rest that covered his body.

Chapter Eight – Truth

**No**

**You'll never be alone**

**When darkness comes I'll light the night with stars**

**Hear the whispers in the dark**

**No**

**You'll never be alone**

**When darkness comes you know I'm never far**

**Hear my whispers in the dark**

Naruto stood completely frozen looking at Sasuke. Of course he knew why the other teen had a bruise on his face. It was the rest that worried him. There were so many of them, there was no way they could be accidental.

The blond felt sick to his stomach. With all his might, he took a deep breath to compose himself and find his voice.

"Sasuke…why?" despite his efforts, his voice was close to cracking. Sasuke stormed out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. At once, he put on his boxers, jeans and the first top he could find. He heard soft footsteps approaching him.

"Please, look at me." The voice was pleading. Afraid he might start crying again, the raven took a couple of moments before turning around. His heart gave a painful squeeze when he looked at Naruto. The blond was close to tears fiddling with his hands, obviously unsure of what to say or do.

All of this was wrong. He was not meant to find out this way! Not like that…

The raven felt his rage building up. It was not aimed at Naruto, but at himself. He should have locked the fucking bathroom door.

"Sasuke…I…" Naruto still struggled finding the right words. "Why didn't you tell me?" there was no accusation in his words, no hurt just pure concern and sadness. For the first time in his life, the Uchiha didn't know how to respond. He was lost for words. His rage died slowly, only to be replaced by unbearable pain that he was the reason why Naruto was this upset. _Sasuke you always manage to fuck everything up_, he thought.

This really wasn't the time he wanted to have this conversation, but it seemed like he ran out of other options.

"I…didn't know how to tell you." the words were soft and full of sincerity. "I didn't know what you would think about me…once you found out…" the raven looked at the floor.

The blond ran up to him and hugged him tight. It seemed like Naruto was holding on to him for dear life. The hug was so tight it was almost painful, but Sasuke didn't move. He didn't want to break the embrace. The raven felt so…secure.

"I would never think of you differently! No matter what you said or did! Sasuke, I love you!" the last words shocked Sasuke. Someone actually…loved him? Despite everything?

The raven put his hands round Naruto's back, and hugged him tightly in return. He felt his top getting wet from Naruto's tears.

"Why are you crying?" Sasuke asked gently, which at any other moment, wouldn't have come easily to him.

"Because I'm so stupid, that I haven't realised sooner! You had to suffer all alone!" the blond replied in between sobs. Sasuke hugged him tighter. They stayed embraced for a couple of minutes, both not saying anything.

Naruto and Sasuke sat on the couch next to each other. The clock ticked silently in the distance as the raven was gathering his courage to tell the other teen about his past.

"When my parents died…" The raven began and looked down at his hands in his lap. "Orochimaru took custody of me and Itachi. He was a rich and a powerful man, so we didn't stay in care too long. It was really good to have a home again, you know?" Naruto nodded, even though Sasuke couldn't see it. "Itachi was his golden boy. The genius. According to Orochimaru, Itachi could do no wrong. Me on the other hand…I was the wayward brat." The blond took Sasuke's hand in his. The raven's was so cold. It seemed as if telling this story was draining the life out of him. Sasuke took a deep breath before carrying on. "Whenever I did something wrong, or sometimes even for no reason…he would shout at me, actually scream is a better word. When things got really bad, he hit me." A single tear made its way down Sasuke's cheek. Naruto gave the raven's hand a reassuring squeeze. "He said if I ever told anyone, he would kill Itachi. I thought, as long as he isn't hurting Itachi, I will be quiet. He can do whatever he wants to me. And that's why I stayed quiet about it for thirteen years now. Itachi still doesn't know."

Now Naruto was lost for words. How can two people be so close, as him and Sasuke were and not know about something like this? How was it humanly possible that after thirteen years Naruto couldn't figure it out? Of course he knew something was wrong, but in his worst nightmares he never imagined it to be this bad. The blond wanted to kill Orochimaru for what he had done to Sasuke. It made him sick, that he was still walking around as if nothing happened, knowing he had ruined someone's life.

This also explained Sasuke's behaviour after he got punched. He froze up, because that was what he was used to doing.

The raven looked at him misty eyed. The one single tear still hung on his cheek. The blond reached out and wiped it off with his thumb.

"Sasuke, I'm so sorry…I should have known…figured it out…"

"It's okay. It feels good to finally tell someone." Naruto smiled weakly. "But there is still one thing I haven't told you." Naruto felt his heart stop. "At one point, when I was sixteen, it got too much for me. I figured it wouldn't matter if I was here or if I was gone…so I wrote you and Itachi a goodbye letter, and went into the bathroom with a razor."

"Oh Sasuke…" the blond said so quietly, it was almost a whisper. The raven held up his shaky hand for Naruto to see. Underneath his bracelet was a faint pink scar.

"It didn't work. I ended up in hospital. Orochimaru made up a cover story of how it was all an accident and how glad he was that I was gonna be okay. When I came home, I burned the letters. And Orochimaru beat me telling me how selfish it was and if I knew what he would have to go through if I died. Of course he didn't mean emotional pain. A dead adopted kid in your care was bound to cause suspicion."

Naruto stayed silent for a couple of heart beats. Once he realised that Sasuke wasn't going to say anything more, he moved closer to him on the couch. Both of them looked at each other.

"Promise me, that you won't do anything like that again. Promise me!" Naruto begged. "I swear on my life I won't let Orochimaru touch you again! Never." A few tears escaped the blond's eyes. Sasuke could no longer just sit there and watch. He took his hand out of Naruto's and put both of his hands on the blond's face, cradling it.

"Thanks to you Naruto, I never have to suffer alone again."

Naruto smiled at him. He was so happy, that Sasuke thought about him this way. The blond never wanted to see Sasuke suffer again. Silently, he vowed to himself that from this moment on, he would pay more attention, and notice things sooner. He would never _ever_ let Sasuke get hurt again.

Once they were both sat next to each other again, not really saying anything, Naruto reached over and kissed Sasuke on the cheek. The raven wasn't even surprised. He put his head on Naruto's shoulder and whispered a quiet "thank you". Naruto twisted his head so that he could kiss the side of Sasuke's head.

Nothing more needed to be said. Naruto knew everything and Sasuke knew that Naruto cared about him. Possibly Naruto liked him more than a friend. Possibly he liked Naruto as more than a friend. Instead of thinking about it now, he closed his eyes, feeling as if a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders. He was unbelievably relived to finally tell someone. And who better to tell than the best friend you would trust your life with.

Chapter Nine – No Giving Up

"Good morning Sasuke!" Naruto beamed as he approached the sleeping raven with a food tray. On it was all your heart could desire. Toasts with jam, pancakes with maple syrup, hot chocolate…

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked groggily. The blond grinned.

"You look SO cute when you just wake up and you don't even know where you are." He teased.

"Shut up." Sasuke tried to say, but it actually came out as 'shuddup'. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. "What time is it?" his voice was becoming clearer now.

"Quarter past breakfast. Here." The raven was handed a try full of food as he sat up on his bed.

"You made me breakfast?" he asked surprised. "What's the occasion?"

The blond thought about that for a long while, a look of pure determination on his face. Sasuke ignored it and started eating his pancakes. They tasted _amazing_. Who knew the blond could cook something beside ramen?

"Got it!" Naruto exclaimed so suddenly Sasuke chocked on a bite. "Happy Sasuke's day!" the blond put his hands on his hips grinning, clearly proud of what he came up with.

"Idiot." The raven took a drink of his hot chocolate. "You want to kill me?"

"Not on your special day!" The grin widened. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "To continue your celebration, we are going out tonight after lectures!" the raven gave him a 'are you fucking kidding me look'. "I promise it's just gonna be the two of us this time."

"No way"

"Please!" Naruto pleaded.

"No, it's not gonna work again." Sasuke assured him.

"Pretty please with a cherry on top?" the blond looked at him with puppy eyes.

"Last time I went out, this happened." He pointed to the bruise on his face.

"I promise to look after you."

"I'm not going out with my face like this anyway. People are gonna ask questions."

"We'll put some foundation on it, no one's gonna see!"

"No wa…" he stopped himself and smirked. "You have foundation? My pale skin tone foundation?" Naruto blushed and shook his head.

"That's not important." Naruto hoped Sasuke would let this subject go. "You need to come with me!"

"I already said no way. Plus it's a Tuesday; we can't drink if we have school tomorrow." Slowly, the raven was running out of ammunition.

"Screw school." Naruto shrugged.

"That's the attitude. Iruka would be proud."

"Shut up and say yes!"

"For fuck sake! N-O spells no! Do you not understand English? Let me try a different language! Japanese iie, Polish nie, German nicht, Russian niet, Binary code 01001110 01001111!" Naruto's eyes widened.

"What the fuck, you know the Binary code?"

"Just that one word." Sasuke shrugged.

"Of course…but you do sound sexy when you speak Russian."Naruto teased with a wink. Even though Naruto was joking, Sasuke nearly blushed. Damn you Uzumaki. "Back to the subject…I think you were just about to say yes..."

"I'm not going. Some girl is gonna try and hit on me again. And then I'll get hit." This was true, and it had to work. It HAD to.

"I already said I'll look after you…"

"I don't need looking after."

"…and I promise that no _girls_ are gonna hit on you tonight." Naruto smiled slyly. It probably shouldn't have been, but that smile was so sexy…he finally gave in knowing nothing is gonna work on the blond. No fake illness or excuse was gonna make the blond give up.

"Fine, but why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

"Because it's my idea! And I thought you were a genius…" Naruto shook his head in mock disappointment.

0o0o0

"Naruto. I will kill you. I will strangle you in your sleep. Suffocate you with your pillow…" the raven muttered under his breath. He cleared his throat and shouted over the loud music. "Why the fuck did you bring me to a gay club?"

"Did I not promise you that no girl is going to hit on you tonight?"

"I didn't think you would come up with this…though…" Sasuke sighed.

"Don't pretend you don't like this." Naruto winked before taking Sasuke's hand in his and pulling him towards a bar. The raven didn't object. He wouldn't admit, but he liked the feel of Naruto's hand on his.

"So…what are we starting with?" Sasuke asked pushing all other thoughts out of his head and sitting next to the blond at the bar.

"I'll have a Corpse Reviver number two." The blond replied more to the barman than to Sasuke.

"Is that a real drink?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Sure is!" Naruto smiled "And my friend here" he turned back to the barman. "He'll have a Screaming Orgasm on the rocks." The barman nodded.

"Excuse me?!" Sasuke asked appalled as the barman made the cocktails. Naruto laughed.

"Don't worry; it's a name of a cocktail!" Sasuke felt stupid. Of course it was, he knew that. What an inconvenient time to forget about it though. He was pretty sure he blushed too.

"Aww you're blushing!" And obviously the blond idiot had to notice. "You look so cute."

"Stop saying I look cute!"

"But you do!" he poked Sasuke gently in the ribs.

"Stop it." The raven warned.

"Don't frown. You'll get wrinkles."

"Seriously" the raven crossed his arms.

"Spoil sport" Naruto took a sip of his drink. "Here, bottoms up!" Sasuke took his drink and tipped most of it into his mouth. Before he could swallow, the blond added, "And when we get home, you can have another 'screaming orgasm' if you want." Sasuke sprayed his drink everywhere. Naruto laughed again. This time, so hard he nearly fell off his chair.

"Naruto!" Sasuke screamed once he regained his composure.

"Calm down, I was just kidding." The blond chuckled.

"It's not funny!" the raven snapped. "Don't say those things if you don't mean anything by them!"

"How do you know I don't mean it?"

"See what I mean?!"

"No Sasuke, I'm serious." The blond said genuinely. "How do you know that I don't actually want to be with you?" Sasuke moved slightly away from Naruto.

"That's just the drink talking." the raven said, but even he wasn't convinced it was true. The blond was a light-head when it came to alcohol, but it was only one cocktail after all.

"No, I'm being serious. This drink just gave me the confidence to say this."

"If you're kidding…"

"I swear I'm being serious. There's something special about you Uchiha."

"Naruto…" Sasuke said uncertainly. He didn't have enough time to think about this. Just a few days ago he revealed everything about his past to the blond, and now he was saying these things. Sasuke didn't know whether to be angry or happy. He knew that he was gay, and he didn't mind. Of course he never told Orochimaru, but Itachi knew. Even though he never said anything to Naruto, he was pretty sure the blond knew too. "I don't think we should talk about this here."

"Oh…" Naruto looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't have…"

A tall light brown haired guy walked up to Sasuke.

"Hey" he smiled with a lecherous smile. "May I buy you a drink?" Sasuke sighed and without looking at him said,

"No thanks, I already have one."

"Common, don't be shy…" the brunet put his hand on Sasuke's arm. Pure jealousy filled Naruto. He shot up to his feet.

"He already said no, so back off!" the blond came in-between the two men. Naruto and the stranger tensed. The raven sensed that if he didn't do anything, a fight would break out.

"Naruto" Sasuke said behind the blond man gently. "It's okay" Naruto turned around and Sasuke smiled at him. The other guy frowned and turned around.

"Forget it" he muttered walking away. The blond sat next to Sasuke again.

"Look Naruto, what you said…" Sasuke wasn't sure what he could say not to hurt the other teen's feelings. He decided to tell Naruto the truth. He just didn't want to shout it over the music. "Come with me." The raven got up and walked towards the exit. Naruto paid for the drinks and followed him in a hurry.

Once they were outside, and Sasuke checked that they were alone, he gathered his courage again for his second confession in the last five days.

"I feel the same way." the raven met the blond's eyes which widened. "I really do. I'm just not ready…" Naruto smiled and his eyes lit up. It was enough for him to know that Sasuke felt the same. He was just relived that he wasn't rejected. He waited four years to say this. For some reason, this felt like the right time. And if Sasuke needed time, then Naruto was going to wait. For however long he had to. "And I really don't want things to be awkward between us…"

"Consider this conversation forgotten, until you're ready." Naruto smiled again. Sasuke gave a nod. A way of saying thank you, which Naruto understood. "Shall we go back in?"

"If you really want to…"

The blond nodded and Sasuke sighed. Both of them walked together, but stopped as soon as they re-entered the club.

"Is that…?" Sasuke asked shocked.

"Yep." Naruto said equally shocked. "That's Neji alright. Making out with a guy."

"But I thought he was…"

"Straight? Yeah, me too…"

"Maybe he's just…"

"Drunk?"

"Don't do that, it's creepy."

"Do what?" the blond raised an eyebrow. The raven looked away from Neji and the red haired guy thinking it was rude to keep staring at them. Naruto however did not think the same.

"Finishing my…"

"Sentences?" Sasuke smacked him playfully on the back of the head.

"Stop it. And stop looking at them. They probably need some privacy."

"Well" Naruto began, looking away from the scene. "If that's true, then it's a really bad place to make out." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Let's just go home." Sasuke walked towards the exit with Naruto following him again.

Chapter Ten – Broken Glass

Naruto was pacing nervously around the living room. He had something he wanted to tell Sasuke, but he didn't know how and the banging headache did not help at all. Obviously he had the raven's best interests at heart, but he also knew that with the sensitive state Sasuke was in, if he said this wrong it could backfire on him.

"Shit" the blond cursed to himself. He stopped pacing by the window and looked out. The events of last night, swiftly coming back to him:

_"So do we have any booze in the house?" Naruto asked heading for the kitchen._

_"Probably" Sasuke shrugged sitting on the couch. "Didn't you have enough already?"_

_"Nope" the blond grinned. "And neither have you." _

_Eventually Naruto came back with a bottle of Vodka and nothing more. _

_"And we're just gonna drink this with nothing else, straight from the bottle?" the raven raised an eyebrow._

_"Yeah, pretty much!" he unscrewed the bottle top and took a swing. Without a word he held it up for Sasuke to have a swing. After a couple of moments of hesitation, Sasuke took a swing. A bigger one than he should have. He coughed violently after he swallowed it down. "Tastes gross, but it does the job!" Sasuke chuckled slightly, handling the bottle back to the blond. Naruto wondered if Sasuke was a light-weight himself. "So, here's to us." He raised the bottle and took another swing._

_The bottle was empty after an hour. Sasuke laid on the sofa and Naruto on the floor next to him. _(Of course having drunk so much Naruto wasn't sure this actually happened, but he sure as hell hoped it did.) _Naruto searched with his hand until he found Sasuke's. When he did, he platted his fingers through the raven's. Sasuke let the blond do so. He gave the blond's hand a little squeeze which caused Naruto to grin from ear to ear. _

"My head is killing me."

"Huh?" Naruto snapped back to the present. "Morning" he said to Sasuke, who stood behind him, one hand on his head. He was squinting in the light. "On the counter in the kitchen."

"What?" Sasuke asked confused.

"Painkillers, Antacids, Rehydration Treatment tablets and a glass of water are on the counter in the kitchen." Once the raven processed the information, he smiled slightly and walked towards the kitchen. He mumbled something that sounded a lot like 'thanks'. Naruto wondered if now was the right time to talk to Sasuke. The blond wondered how much the other teen would shout at him with a hangover. The truth was, Naruto didn't care if Sasuke shouted at him. He was more afraid that the raven would never speak to him again.

The blond walked into the kitchen. Sasuke was just finishing his drink of water.

"I am never drinking again." He announced.

"You always say that." The blond looked amused.

"I mean it this time."

"You always say that too." He suddenly remembered why he came here. "Sasuke, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about."

"That never sounds good." The raven looked at him.

"Ever since you told me about Orochimaru I thought that maybe you would benefit from therapy." He decided to just say it.

"What?" Sasuke tensed. "What did you say?"

"You have to understand, I'm only saying this because I care about you so much." When the other teen didn't say anything, Naruto carried on. "If you want, I will book it for you. I'll take you there."

"Is that what you really think about me?"

"What? No! Sasuke, I only think that it could help you, if you talked to someone professional about what happened with Orochimaru."

"Stop saying his name." Sasuke hissed. Both of his fists clenched at his side.

"Sasuke I didn't mean to upset you…"

"Has this something to do with last night?"

"Huh?"

"Last night I told you I'm not ready, and you think I need therapy?" the blond looked slightly hurt.

"I swear that is not why I said it!"

All of this was going to shit. Naruto could have sworn he saw Sasuke tear up. Why couldn't the other teen understand that he was just concerned about him?

"Whatever Naruto." The raven pushed past him.

"Sasuke wait! Please! Let's talk about it!" he pleased.

"No!" the raven snapped turning around. "I'm going out. Don't you dare follow me, because if you do, I swear to God I will not come back here!" Naruto gulped. Sasuke was beyond mad. He knew better than to follow the teen. Instead he watched Sasuke walk out the door. He heard it slam and a picture next to it fell to the door.

"Fuck!" he grabbed a vase from the table and threw it at a wall. It smashed to a million pieces. He wanted to help Sasuke, but he failed. He felt like such an idiot! How would he like it if someone told him to go to therapy? No matter how much they cared. "Fuck." He said again as he collapsed on the sofa and buried his face in his hands sobbing quietly.

Three Hours Later

A knock on the door made Naruto jump up in surprise.

"Sasuke!" he ran to the door hoping to see the raven standing there.

However when he opened it, he was disappointed. Instead of Sasuke, he saw his older brother.

"Hey Naruto!" he said with a kind smile.

"Hey. I forgot you were coming today." Naruto's disappointment was clear in his voice.

"Nice to see you too." Itachi knew better than to take it personally. He guessed something happened, that had nothing to do with him.

"Sorry." Naruto shook his head. He shouldn't take his frustration out on Itachi. Especially, since the raven came all this way. "Come in" the blond stepped aside to let the older Uchiha enter.

"Where's Sasuke?" Itachi asked as he walked into the apartment.

"We had a fight…" Naruto began.

"You always have fights." the raven smiled.

"Yeah but not like this…" Itachi looked around. He noticed the broken picture next to the door and the broken vase.

"Naruto…" he instantly turned protective. "What the fuck have you done to my brother?"

"Huh?" the blond looked Itachi in the eyes. They were furious. "Nothing I swear! Itachi you know I would never hurt him!" this seemed like a lie to Naruto. He thought he had hurt Sasuke with his words earlier, but that was not intentional.

"Then what the hell happened?" the raven demanded pointing to the broken vase. Naruto couldn't tell him the whole story. It wasn't his secret to tell. He figured Sasuke should tell Itachi himself. Although he doubted very much, that that would ever happen.

"We just had a fight. A big one. Sasuke stormed off, I got pissed off and threw the vase at the wall." Itachi eyed him suspiciously but he knew Naruto was telling the truth. They had been friends forever, since Itachi also knew him for a long time. Naruto was a sweet boy, who couldn't even hurt a fly.

"You have any idea where he is?" Itachi asked.

"No, he told me not to follow him. I figured he needed some space."

"Right" the raven said and took out his phone. He dialled Sasuke's number and waited. No answer. He tried again. No answer. After trying three more times, gave up. The raven frowned.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"He's not answering." Naruto didn't like the worry in Itachi's voice. Of course Sasuke wouldn't pick up if he called him, but why the hell didn't he pick up when Itachi called? He sincerely hoped the raven didn't do anything stupid.

"Maybe I should go look for him." Naruto rose from the sofa.

"No, I'll go. You stay here in case he comes back." Naruto nodded. "And call me the second he does." With that, Itachi left the apartment.

In any other circumstance, Naruto would have laughed at Itachi and said that he's over reacting. This time, however he was worried sick. Naruto already knew how fragile Sasuke was, and with their fight, it only made things worse.

He hated sitting here and waiting, but Itachi was right. He should stay here in case Sasuke came back. Plus Sasuke made it clear he did not want Naruto to follow him.

The blond took his mobile out of his pocket. He knew it was a long shot, but he tried anyway. With a shaky hand, he called Sasuke. No answer.

"Please be okay" he said wishing Sasuke could hear him.

Chapter Eleven – Someone Who Cares

**Keep holding on**

**When my brain's ticking like a bomb**

**Guess the black thoughts **

**Have come again to get me**

**Wait, I'm coming undone**

**Unlaced, I'm coming undone**

**Too late, I'm coming undone**

**What looks so strong, so delicate**

Naruto was sat on the sofa for a long time. So long in fact, that it had gotten dark outside. He tried calling Sasuke about thirty times now to no avail. When he called Itachi, the older Uchiha said he had no luck in finding his brother. Naruto told the raven all the places Sasuke could be, and Itachi checked them all.

With each ticking second Naruto grew more and more worried.

"I'm going to kill him when he gets home." The blond muttered to himself. Realising what he said he slapped his forehead. "I didn't mean it like that. Just come home you bastard." Again Naruto wished that Sasuke would hear him. He would have done anything at that moment just to see Sasuke again. In his heart he wished that Sasuke was alive and unharmed.

Itachi walked around town again. He looked in every place Naruto said to check. After he'd done that, he checked every place again. This was really unlike Sasuke to disappear for so long without a word. No matter how bad the fight was.

He tried to call his brother again, for what he felt like the hundredth time today. His eyes widened when someone answered the phone.

"Sasuke!?" he exclaimed. "Sasuke, can you hear me?" No reply came from the other end of the line. "Sasuke!"

"Itachi…" a voice said very quietly. With difficulty, Itachi realised the voice belonged to his baby brother. "I'm sorry."

"Sasuke! Where are you?" The raven called out again but the younger Uchiha hang up. Itachi was no expert but he knew that sounded bad. Why was he apologising? What did he do? Or was going to do?

Itachi dialled Naruto's number.

"Hello?" answered the blond on the first ring. His voice sounded so hopeful.

"I got a call from Sasuke." He heard the blond stop breathing on the other end of the line. "He said that he's sorry, and he hang up."

"No! No!" Naruto cried into the phone.

"Naruto? What's going on!?"

"I think Sasuke's in trouble! We need to find him now, before it's too late!"

"Meet me by the small shop on the corner." Naruto seemed to know exactly what Itachi was talking about.

"I'll be there as soon as I can!" he shouted and hang up.

Naruto's mind whirled. His head was filled with dark thoughts. What the hell did Sasuke mean? Why was he apologising? He hoped that the raven didn't do anything stupid. If…if anything happened to Sasuke, he would never forgive himself.

Suddenly, he heard his phone ring. He looked at the screen and froze. It was Sasuke. He picked it up at the third ring with a very shaky hand.

"Sasuke?" he asked, his voice on the verge of braking. "Sasuke?" he repeated when he got no answer.

"Naruto, I'm so sorry." Naruto felt his heart stop. "The fight we had, it was so stupid. I know you had my best interests at heart. I should have never reacted the way I did."

"It's okay" Naruto said so glad to hear his best friend's voice again. "Just, please come home."

"I was so mad when I stormed out…" Sasuke carried on as if he hadn't heard the other teen. "I lost it. And now it's too late. I'm so sorry."

"Sasuke, stop talking like that. What's going on?"

"I lost control." The blond felt his heart stop again. No, this was not happening. "Swear to me, that you won't tell Itachi what Orochimaru did to me."

"Sasuke stop talking like I'm not gonna see you again!" Naruto struggled to keep his voice even. Tears were running down his face.

"Promise me!" the raven insisted.

"I promise! Just tell me where you are!" Sasuke hesitated and carried on.

"If I could go back in time…" the raven stopped.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called out worried out of his mind.

"If I could go back, I would never have left the apartment. I would tell you, that I will go to therapy. I would have grabbed you, and kissed you, because you never know when it's gonna be your last day."

"Please, tell me where you are!" The blond hurt unbearably. The person he loved was slowly slipping away from him. He could feel it. Somehow, he could feel Sasuke getting weaker, and colder.

"I just wish that I realised that I am ready to be with you, before it was too late. Forgive me." With that, the raven hung up.

"Sasuke!" Naruto screamed down the phone, aware of the fact that the other teen couldn't hear him anymore. He needed to find Sasuke, fast.

As he stormed out of the building, and ran down the street, he thought of all the places that Sasuke could be all over again. Then, he realised something. The club that they went to, the 'Blue-Moon'. He forgot about that place, and so didn't tell Itachi.

The blond doubled his speed and ran towards the club. It was quite far, but he knew he would get there faster, than he would by getting a cab. There was too much traffic at this time. Quickly, he dialled Itachi.

"I think I know where Sasuke is, I'm going to get him. I'll call you as soon as I find something out." he hung up without waiting for a reply. Getting to Sasuke was the priority.

"Hang on, I'm coming Sasuke." Naruto said quietly running as fast as he could.

Sasuke looked around. It took him a lot of effort. He was feeling weaker by the second. There were a few people passing by, but everyone who saw him, must have thought that he was just drunk and so they left him alone. This couldn't have been further from the truth. Sasuke hadn't drunk at all. There was a broken alcohol bottle next to him, but it had a different purpose.

He sat here, on the concrete floor, his back against the cold hard wall, dying, and regretting his entire day.

He regretted arguing with Naruto. He regretted storming out. But most of all, he regretted _this_. It was just a spur of the moment. He lost control. His mind was overtaken by the misery and he attempted to take his own life. Attempted was the wrong word. It seemed to be working. He's vision became more and more blurry. He struggled to keep his head up and his eyes open.

He was glad that at least he got to speak to his brother and Naruto. The only two people he loved.

Naruto. That name brought peace to him. He closed his eyes and imagined the blond's grinning face. It felt like sunshine warming up his cold lifeless limbs. He was slipping away, and he knew Naruto was going to suffer because of it.

'I'm a fucking idiot.' The raven tried to say, but his mouth was not letting him.

"Naruto…" he mumbled softly instead.

That's when he heard the blond scream his name. He wasn't even sure it was really Naruto, or that it was really happening, as he slipped into unconsciousness.

"Sasuke!" Naruto screamed as he raced towards the raven haired teen. When he reached Sasuke, he collapsed onto his knees next to him. He shook him gently.

"Sasuke please open your eyes!" he begged but the raven didn't hear. That was when Naruto noticed the broken bottle. He grabbed one of the raven's wrists gently. When he let go, his had was covered in blood.

"Shit!" he cursed as he took out his phone. He called for an ambulance and told them their location. When he hung up he turned his full attention back to Sasuke.

"Please stay with me." Naruto took the raven's cold, lifeless hand in his own. Tears were flowing down his face freely and he made no effort to wipe them away. "I need you! I love you!" he told the other teen. "I beg you, don't leave me!"

Naruto put his head in Sasuke's lap and bellowed with the pain he felt in his heart as he waited for the ambulance to arrive.

Chapter Twelve – Wake Up

"Mr Uchiha? Can I speak to you privately?" The doctor that just came out of Sasuke's hospital room asked.

"It's alright; Naruto's a very close friend." Itachi replied hoarsely. He was looking at the floor, too afraid to look the doctor in the eyes. The doctor glanced at the blond and nodded before carrying on speaking.

"I have some news…"

0o0o0

_The ride to the hospital was short. Naruto was unsure of what was going on. He saw a lot of people crowded over Sasuke. They kept shouting at each other, barking orders. Desperately trying to save the raven haired teen._

_Naruto saw everything in a blur. His mind was foggy, and his eyes watery from all the tears he cried. He sat in the corner of the ambulance to keep out of the way._

_The only thing the blond could remember clearly was blood. Blood everywhere. And _way_ too much of it._

Naruto felt his stomach flip. He wasn't very religious, but he spent the last half an hour praying, to whatever God would hear, for Sasuke to be okay. His mind was just becoming clearer, and so he texted Itachi (ignoring the twenty missed calls) to let him know where he and Sasuke were. He didn't trust his voice enough to phone the older Uchiha.

He stood outside the raven's hospital room for what seemed like forever to him. They wouldn't tell him anything. They were not permitted to discuss Sasuke's condition with anyone other than family. Itachi managed to get there about ten minutes ago. Finally the doctor came out of the room to say something.

"I have some news." Upon hearing that, Itachi paled. With his already pale skin, it made him look like a ghost. Naruto thought he was going to throw up. It took him all of his strength just to stand up. "Your brother had lost a lot of blood and needed a transfusion, but he is a very lucky man. Had Mr Uzumaki found him a few minutes later, things would have been much, much worse."

"Does that mean…" Naruto interrupted eagerly wanting to know more. The doctor looked at him and smiled before carrying on.

"It means that Sasuke is going to be okay." Both Itachi and Naruto sighed with relief. "He's sleeping right now. You can go and see him if you wish, but don't wake him up. He's exhausted. Also, we will run some more tests in the morning. If everything is okay, which I believe it will be, you will be able to take him home in the afternoon." Naruto smiled and Itachi impatiently waited for a chance to go and see his little brother. "Does he live alone or have anyone to look after him when he's discharged?" the doctor looked from Itachi to Naruto.

"He lives with me." The blond said. "I'll take good care of him." the doctor smiled again.

"Very good." Naruto and Itachi smiled lightly, and made a move to walk into Sasuke's hospital room. "I have one more thing to say." both boys stopped in their track. "Sasuke wasn't conscious enough to tell us what happened. If he wakes up, try to ask him to see if he remembers." Itachi nodded in understanding.

"What do you think could have happened?" the raven asked.

"It could be many things Mr Uchiha. He could have been attacked, or tripped and landed on glass or it could be a…" the doctor stopped. Naruto knew straight away what the doctor was going to say. "a suicide attempt." The blond bit his bottom lip.

"No way" Itachi said shaking his head. "Sasuke wouldn't do that."

"Like I said, Mr Uchiha it could be many things. If he's conscious, please try to ask him."

"We will. Thank you doctor." Itachi smiled and shook the doctor's hand who returned the smile. "Common Naruto" he said walking into Sasuke's room.

The blond sat in Sasuke's room on his own. Itachi left to get some coffee for himself and Naruto. Sasuke was lying still on the hospital bed, the heart monitor beeping steadily next to him.

The blond wasn't sure what Sasuke would remember. He knew that if the raven remembered what he did, he wouldn't tell Itachi. For a second, the blond though that maybe he should tell the older Uchiha. Then he remembered his promise. And also the fact that Sasuke agreed to go to therapy. He just hoped the raven haired teen wouldn't change his mind. Naruto also remembered that the raven said he wanted to kiss him. He said he was ready to be with him. His heart filled with joy. Hard reality came crushing down when he remembered that Sasuke was still unconscious after a suicide attempt. He wished that Sasuke would wake up. He just wanted to hug the other teen. Hug him tight and never let go.

He moved his chair closer to Sasuke's bed and took his hand in his.

"Please wake up." He whispered and led his head on Sasuke's bed, felling exhausted himself.

Just when he was about to fall asleep, he heard a small voice. Someone mumbled something that sounded like 'Naruto'. It was so quiet; the blond didn't think anything of it.

"Naruto" the voice said again. This time the blond didn't ignore it. He raised his head. His eyes opened wide when he saw that Sasuke was awake.

"Sasuke" he breathed. "How are you feeling? Are you in pain? Should I get a doctor?" the raven shook his head weakly.

"Naruto, you're here." He whispered.

"Of course I am! Why couldn't I be?" the blond still held Sasuke's hand. Absentmindedly he caressed it with his thumb.

"Because…" Sasuke took a big breath. "I thought you were going to hate me, after what I've done." The raven looked away from Naruto.

"Don't be stupid. I could never hate you. I was just worried sick that I lost you. I don't know what I would have done without you." Sasuke still looked into the distance. "Hey, look at me." The blond said gently, and Sasuke did. "I love you. I don't want to lose you."

"I'm so sorry Naruto." A few tears escaped Sasuke's eyes and he made no effort to hide it. He didn't want to pretend in front of Naruto. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." Naruto led on the bed next to Sasuke wiping his tears away. "I'm sorry too. If I hadn't said anything about therapy…"

"No, I overreacted. You just wanted to make sure that I was okay. I'll go to therapy, promise."

"Thank you" the blond smiled.

"Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"There was something I forgot to say when I called you."

"What is it?" the blond said slightly concerned.

"When I did…what I did…" it was obvious that Sasuke found it hard to talk about. "All I kept thinking about was you. Then I called you and said everything I wanted you to know. Or at least I thought I said everything. But once I hang up, and I felt myself slipping away, I wanted to scream because there was something that I thought I would never have the chance to say. That thing was, I love you too Naruto. I never thought I would find someone who understands me and loves me despite my faults."

"Sasuke…" Naruto said quietly matching the raven's tone. "If you died…I can't imagine my future with you not in it. My heart beats only for you."

Both Sasuke and Naruto turned their heads towards each other, so that their foreheads were touching.

"Don't cry" the blond said once he saw a new tear on the Uchiha's cheek. He reached over and kissed it. "I'll never let you suffer again." Sasuke smiled lightly before closing his eyes. Naruto took hold of the raven's hand again and moved his forehead against Sasuke's.

The raven sighed deeply. Naruto was the only person who Sasuke let into his life fully. He was the only person who knew the real Sasuke. He didn't want to pretend or push him away, knowing that Naruto loved him. He loved him too, more and more each day. The raven wished he had the strength to stay awake, because there were so many things he wanted to tell the blond. Most off all, he wanted to promise to him to stay strong, no matter what.

"You are my everything." He heard Naruto whisper before sleep claimed him.

Chapter Thirteen – Better Than Okay

One week later

"Naruto, please stop fussing over me." the raven rolled his eyes as he stood in the entry way to the living room. Naruto was just fluffing the pillows were the younger Uchiha wanted to sit. "I'm not an invalid." He crossed his arms across his chest.

"I know you're not." Naruto answered still making sure that the sitting place was perfect. "But the doctor told me to look after you, so I am!" Sasuke sighed and shook his head.

"I'm pretty sure that the doctor only meant for the first couple of days. I'm as good as new now." Naruto turned around to face his best friend. "It's bad enough Itachi calling me three times a day; I don't need you to overreact too." Naruto remembered how Sasuke told Itachi that he has no idea what happened, hoping that the older Uchiha would let it go.

"Will you ever tell him?" the blond asked gently.

"Tell him what?"

"About what you tried to do, twice." Naruto chose his words very carefully. He didn't want another fight, or to hurt Sasuke. The raven seemed to understand.

"Maybe, but not right now." Naruto smiled. Since the Uchiha was in such good mood for answering questions, the blond decided to push his luck.

"When's your first sessions?" The raven seemed to understand again.

"Its tomorrow" He looked at the floor. "Naruto, I wanted to ask you something." The blond made his way closer towards Sasuke. He took his hand in his and the raven didn't object.

"What is it?"

"Would you…go with me?" despite the fact that Sasuke held Naruto very dear to him, in fact he would have done anything for him, but it was still difficult to ask.

"Of course I will!" Naruto smiled and hugged the raven. At first Sasuke wanted to push away, but decided against it. The hug was so familiar and so normal. He relaxed in Naruto's grip and buried his head in the blonde's hair. It smelled like strawberries. Sasuke smiled. "You know what? Maybe you should go back to bed." the blond suddenly decided. Sasuke chuckled and decided it was pointless to tell him that he was fine standing up. The blond was even more stubborn than him.

"Fine idiot." He said pulling gently away. "But on one condition."

"What? You want some ice cream? Extra pillows?"

"You." Naruto looked at him slightly confused.

"Huh?"

"I'm only going to go to bed, if you're gonna come with me." The raven smirked sexily. The blond turned the colour of tomatoes. Sasuke's favourite vegetable. Ever since Sasuke and Naruto both confessed their love for each other in the hospital room, the most they have done was a quick kiss. Naruto didn't want to hurt Sasuke, and so didn't insist they do anything more. He hoped the raven would make the first move.

Sasuke turned around and walked into the bedroom. He stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"Don't keep me waiting." He smirked again and carried on walking.

Naruto followed him straight in, feeling that his wish came true.

Naruto and Sasuke merely made it to the bed. As soon as they entered the bedroom, they started to make out passionately. The raven gripped Naruto's hair, while the blond held Sasuke around the waist. At that moment, they didn't care about anything else in the world. It was just them. Their bodies fit perfectly together. It was like they were made for each other.

Both of them stumbled and fell into Sasuke's bed. They stopped kissing for a little bit, and looked each other in the eyes.

"Vy tak zharko, ya khochu, chtoby ty zdes' i seychas." Sasuke said in Russian and smiled sexily. Naruto smirked.

"Did I mention you sound so sexy when you speak Russian?" The blond told him and Sasuke smirked.

"Once I think."

"What does it mean?"

"I said that you're hot and I want you right here, right now." He husked into the blonds ear. Naruto trembled.

"Wow"

"Ya lyublyu tebya." Naruto trembled again.

"What about that?"

"I love you."

"Sasuke, I love you too." The blond breathed and Sasuke smirked.

"You are easy to seduce Uzumaki."

"Only because you're so hot!" Sasuke chuckled. "You're like an angel walking among us mortals."

"Alright, lay off the poetry Naruto." The raven smiled. The more he was with Naruto, the easier it was to smile. "Now, where were we?" he closed his eyes and kissed Naruto again. The blond returned the kiss and moved Sasuke closer to him. The raven tangled his hands in Naruto's hair again. He loved that hair; it smelled so fresh and felt so soft. The blond's hands caressed Sasuke's back. The Uchiha let out a small moan of pleasure. His hands gently moved down the blonde's body. He moved one of his hands under Naruto's shirt feeling all the muscles. This time, it was Naruto's turn to moan.

"Sasuke you are my everything." The blond said in-between kisses.

"So you've said." Sasuke smiled into the next kiss. "You're mine too." Naruto smiled too and resumed kissing the raven passionately.

It was a night, neither of them would ever forget.

Orochimaru sat in his empty house. The clock was ticking loudly in the distance. In his hand, was a glass of Whisky. Talking a swing, he looked at the picture on the fire place. He, Itachi and that brat Sasuke were all in the picture. The man hit the table next to him.

"He's not scared of you anymore." He told himself. "He doesn't care anymore." Another hit to the table. "Well, time to remind him why he should be scared!" Orochimaru laughed harshly. "I'll make that son of a bitch scream, and weep and wish that he'd never been born!" The determination in his voice was frightening. After hitting the table once again, the older man closed his eyes and started planning how to make the young Uchiha suffer again.

Chapter Fourteen – Nightmare

"So Sasuke, what would you like to talk about?" the very nice therapist asked. She had long blond hair, and a very kind smile. Sasuke didn't like her one bit.

"Why don't we just skip to the part where you tell me I need to take some pills or something like that, so I can get the hell out of here?" the raven crossed his arms protectively. He couldn't believe he agreed to this. He told the blond he would go to therapy and so he did. But he was already regretting it.

The therapist smiled again.

"Sorry, it doesn't work like that."

"Shame" Sasuke muttered under his breath. He decided the sooner he said something, the sooner this would be over and done with. "I was abused. There I said it. Can I go now?"

"Don't be so impatient young man. You've been sitting here in silence for almost half an hour, and now you're suddenly in a hurry? Tell me more about it."

"I don't particularly want to." The therapist sighed.

"Look, I'm only trying to help you get through this. However, I can't do that, if you don't talk about it."

"Fine" he rolled his eyes. "My parents died. I and brother got a guardian. He beat me since I was young. My brother still doesn't know, but my boyfriend does. He's the one who made me come today."

"He seems like a sensible young man." Sasuke couldn't help but snort. "How do you feel about your guardian?" The raven glared at her.

"How do you think I feel? I fucking hate him! I still have nightmares because of him…" Sasuke was beginning to open up. The therapist nodded in understanding. "I tried to kill myself, twice." The raven put his head in his hands, while the therapist made some notes.

"I do feel like we already made progress today Sasuke. But I won't deny there is still a long road ahead of us. Unfortunately, we ran out of time today, but how about you come and see me same time next week?"

"Fine" the raven got up to leave. "You're not allowed to tell anyone about what I said, right?"

"Of course" she smiled kindly. "Patient doctor confidentiality. See you next week."

"Bye" he said as he walked out the door. He closed it with a huge sigh.

Naruto got up form a chair in the waiting room and made his way towards Sasuke.

"And?" the blond asked in anticipation.

"It was okay." The raven shrugged "She said we made progress." Naruto grinned at his boyfriend. It was still odd calling Sasuke that, he felt it was too good to be true.

"Thanks for coming." Naruto sneaked a quick kiss on Sasuke's cheek.

"Thanks for coming with me." The raven smiled lightly.

"Why don't we go home?"

"What about school?"

"I got no lectures now, and do you really feel like going back to school?"

"Good point" the raven hated to admit. "But actually, I would like to take a walk, alone. No offense."

"None taken" the blond smiled. He knew that Sasuke needed some space and time alone to think about whatever happened during the therapy session. "I'll be home, waiting for you. With a surprise." The blond kissed Sasuke on the lips, which the other teen happily returned.

"See you later." The raven said as he walked towards the exit.

Orochimaru stood in front of Naruto and Sasuke's apartment. Cleverly, he'd been spying on them for a couple of days, and so he knew exactly where they lived. He also knew that neither was home at the moment.

"Perfect" he said to himself as he kicked the front door open. He stepped inside and looked around. "What a pathetic little hole. Perfect for that little rat."

That's when something in Orochimaru snapped. He started demolishing the apartment. Everything he could get his filthy hands on, he broke. Pictures, vases, flower pots. He even tore pillows apart and cut the sofa with a knife he got from the kitchen.

Once the whole place looked like hell, he felt satisfied.

"Beautiful" he panted, out of breath. "Just a little reminded to Sasuke, that I haven't forgotten about him." the older man exited the apartment and walked away as if he'd done nothing wrong. It was just a part of his sick and twisted game.

Sasuke couldn't stop thinking about Naruto as he walked around town. He was listening to music on his mp3 player, but nothing could stop his thoughts. He knew he probably should have been thinking about his therapy but he just couldn't. He felt an uncontrollable need to be with the blond haired teen right now, and before he was even aware of it, his legs were talking him home.

As he entered the apartment building, he immediately had a gut feeling that something was wrong. He took out his headphones and ran up the stairs to his apartment. He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw the front door wide open. He ran the short distance left to the apartment.

He saw the mess in the apartment, and could feel his heart beating in his throat.

"Naruto!" he shouted and ran inside.

"Sasuke!" the blond answered emerging from the bedroom. "Someone broke into our apartment!"

"Naruto, are you alright?" Sasuke asked concerned.

"Yeah, I came home and this place already looked like this."

"Thank God you're alright." Relief washed over Sasuke, and before he could stop himself, he hugged the blond tightly. He remembered the last time someone broke into his house both of his parents died. He didn't want to lose someone he loved again.

"Right back at ya." The blond hugged him back. "We were lucky both of us were out." Sasuke stepped back and took another look at the apartment. It was a _mess_. Everything was ruined. "Something strange about this brake in though."

"What?" Sasuke asked curious.

"Nothing was stolen. I checked twice. Everything is ruined, but nothing is missing."

"Odd" and it really was. "What kind of a freak brakes in just to leave empty handed?" Naruto shrugged. "We should call the police."

"Already did that." Sasuke looked at Naruto. He was so relieved the blond was okay, like never before.

"You weren't kidding about the surprise before?" Sasuke tried to make a joke, but even he knew it wasn't a very good one.

"Funny that. I'll go see if there is anything in one piece left in the bedroom." Naruto said and the raven nodded.

"I'll do the same here." It was the blonde's turn to nod. Naruto went into the bedroom while Sasuke started to look through the piles of broken things in the living room. "Good thing we have insurance." He said to himself.

Suddenly, he noticed a folded piece of paper. He picked it up and opened it. Once he read the message inside, his heart started beating extremely fast. His palms became sweaty, and he felt incredibly dizzy. He let the piece of paper fall to the floor, and he collapsed backwards.

"Are you okay there?" Naruto called from the bedroom. Sasuke tried his hardest to make the lie sound convincing.

"I'm fine, just tripped."

"Be careful bastard!" Sasuke couldn't answer. His heart was still hammering in his chest. He picked up the piece of paper again with a shaky hand.

_I'm still here. Next time, it's not the apartment that will be in pieces. _

The note wasn't signed, but he knew who it was from. He knew too well.

He crumpled it up and shoved it in his jeans pocket. Once he regained his composure, he continued looking through the living room. Even though his heart calmed down, his hands were still shaky.

It was a nightmare he couldn't wake up from.

Chapter Fifteen – Coming Back For More

Naruto stood in the kitchen in his and Sasuke's apartment. Everything was still one big mess. After calling Neji to tell him what happened, he offered to help with the clear up.

"You really didn't have to do this." Naruto said to Neji as he was picking up broken glasses off the floor. Neji smiled at him, while sweeping smaller pieces of glass.

"It's okay. I know you would have done the same for me. Plus four pairs of hands are better than two." Naruto shook his head.

"I still can't believe you made your brand new boyfriend" the blond was sure to drag out the last word. "come help us though." Neji sighed.

"I already told you. You called me when I was with Gaara. He asked what's going on, and when I said I'm going over to help you guys, he offered to come too." Naruto grinned.

"Well he seems nice enough. And it looks like him and Sasuke are getting along quite nicely too." The blond pointed towards the living room where Sasuke and Gaara were still tiding up the mess. "Can you hear that?" Neji looked somewhat confused.

"What are you talking about? I can't hear anything."

"Exactly! That means they don't have a problem with each other since they are working in silence. "

"How do you know they just haven't killed each other?" Neji raised an eyebrow.

"Just…carry on cleaning would you?" Naruto shook his head. He picked up a broken mug. "Shit" he muttered quietly, but the young Hyuga heard anyway.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Iruka gave me this mug." He sighed. "Whoever this creep was, he has some serious issues."

"How is Sasuke handling it?" Neji asked out of the blue. The blond decided to tell him the truth.

"Not so well. I mean, he didn't say anything, but ever since it happened, he looks over his shoulder a lot. Like he's scared someone might be following him. He doesn't sleep too well either. He keeps tossing and turning."

"Well" the brunet thought about it for a few heartbeats. "It only happened like three days ago. He's probably still in shock. Like you said, this brake in was odd. Nothing was stolen but everything ruined. I'm suppressed you're handling it this well."

"To be honest…I'm not. I only try to be strong for Sasuke. He's so freaked out by this, he doesn't need to see me worried too, you know?" Neji smiled and nodded once.

"You're such a good man Naruto. Sasuke is lucky to have you."

"Actually" Naruto smiled. "I think it's the other way round." The blond thought about the way Sasuke smiled when he was with him. He thought of the way Sasuke told him he loved him. He thought about how concerned Sasuke was about him when he found out about the brake in.

The blond picked up another piece of glass and put it in the bin.

"So…" he broke the silence that filled the kitchen. "How did you and Gaara meet?"

"Not that long ago, in a club."

"Was that club called, the 'Blue Moon'?" Neji's eyes widened.

"How did you know?" Naruto laughed.

"You slut! Me and Sasuke went to that club and saw you making out with him!" Neji blushed.

"You know Naruto, sometimes you can be a real ass."

"Well its true isn't it?"

"It is." Neji looked him straight in the eyes. "But if you knew, why did you ask?"

"I wanted to hear you say it." Neji threw the first thing he could get his hands on at Naruto.

"Sasuke and Gaara aren't trying to kill each other, but it seems like you are trying to kill me!"

"Shut up and hurry up. I want to go home at some point."

"I was just joking! But you are free to leave whenever you please." Naruto went back to picking up the glass. Who knew that they had so many glasses?

Instead of leaving, Neji and Gaara stayed for a long time helping the two boys clean the mess that was their apartment.

"Phew" Naruto sighed as he walked into the bedroom. "Thanks to Neji and Gaara we are one step closer to getting this apartment back to the way it was." Sasuke stood with his back to the blond, looking out the window. "It was so nice of them to help." Naruto took a step closer to Sasuke. "What you doing?" he still didn't receive an answer. "Baby are you alright?" he put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. The raven haired teen gasped and turned around as quick as lightning, nearly hitting Naruto in the face by accident. "Sasuke, what's wrong?" the blond asked wide eyed and concerned.

"Oh God Naruto" Sasuke breathed. "Sorry, you startled me."

"How is that possible? I've been talking to you since I entered this room!"

"I was just…thinking. Sorry, I didn't mean to react like that." The blond smiled gently.

"It's alright." The raven didn't return his smile. "You're really worried about this, aren't you?" Sasuke didn't respond, but Naruto knew anyway. He walked up to Sasuke. "I swear you're gonna be okay. Nothing is gonna happen to you." the young Uchiha rolled his eyes.

"It's not me I'm worried about. It's you." Naruto couldn't help but smile a little.

"I swear to you, we're both gonna be okay. Whoever did this is a nut job, and the police know about it."

"What the hell are they gonna do?" the raven looked at the floor.

"Baby look at me." The blond said. Sasuke still wouldn't. He lifted the raven haired teen's chin gently with his finger. "We've got each other." Naruto smiled. "And that makes us invincible!" This time, Sasuke couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. The blond was such an idiot, but he instantly made him feel better.

Sasuke almost believed him, but then he remembered Orochimaru's note.

"I'll go take a shower." He announced talking a step away from Naruto. The blond sat on the less damaged bed that he and Sasuke were using.

The raven undressed quickly throwing his clothes on the other bed, only leaving his boxers on. The blond couldn't help but smirk. The other teen looked so hot with his clothes on, but even more with them off. The thought made him blush. Sasuke noticed it. He walked up to Naruto and kissed him on the lips before walking into the bathroom.

Naruto was staring around the room. It looked much better, but there was still a lot of stuff that needed to be thrown out. Of course he and Sasuke would have to go shopping to get new, everything. He groaned at the thought. He hated shopping and Sasuke hated it even more.

The blond looked over to Sasuke's clothes. He walked up to the bed and picked up the raven's top. It smelled like him. Naruto smiled. Then, he saw a note sticking out of the pocket of the raven's jeans. Uncertainly, he picked it up and unfolded it.

_I'm still here. Next time, it's not the apartment that will be in pieces._

The blond heard the bathroom door open behind him.

"I forgot my…" Sasuke began, and then noticed the blond standing by his clothes. "Naruto?" Naruto turned around slowly.

"What the hell is this?" the raven noticed the note in the blond's hand. Fuck. He knew there was no point in denying what it was.

"I found it while clearing out the living room." He said trying to hide his shaky hands behind his back.

"And you didn't tell me because?"

"Because I didn't want you to worry." Sasuke answered honestly.

"This is a threat! We have to give it to the police!"

"Yeah? And what are they gonna do with it? It's not gonna help them find him faster."

"It's him, isn't it?" Naruto let go of shirt, but kept a firm grip on the note and took a step towards Sasuke.

"Who?" the raven asked even though he knew who Naruto meant.

"That scumbag Orochimaru? He did this? And wrote you that note?" Sasuke nodded.

"I think so. No one else would write something like that."

"I'm gonna fucking kill him!" Naruto stormed out of the bedroom. Sasuke ran after him.

"Naruto wait!"

"No, he's gonna pay for what he's done to you!"

"Naruto!"

"What!?" the blond stopped and turned around.

"Please don't…What if…what if he hurts you? I couldn't live with myself if…if that bastard hurt you too."

"Sasuke" the blond spoke more gently now. His emotions calmed down a little bit. "Fine, I won't go after him. But I'm still going to the police. I'm just going to tell them that he's the one who broke in, and left this note. They'll question him." Naruto hugged Sasuke. "It's gonna be okay, I swear."

"But what if they let him go?"

"You can tell the police what he did to you."

"He's a rich man, and is gonna have a good lawyer. They're not gonna believe me! About what he did to me or the break in!"

"We'll get a restraining order or something. Anything. I'm not gonna rest until he's either dead or behind bars!" The blond kissed Sasuke and walked towards the front door of the apartment. "I'll be back soon." He smiled and left the apartment.

The raven was sat on the ruined couch after a shower. He was wearing his cream coloured pyjamas.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Idiot" The raven muttered to himself. "Forgot his keys." He walked towards the front door and opened them. His blood froze once he saw the person standing there. It wasn't Naruto.

"Hello Sasuke. Long-time no see." Orochimaru chuckled as he saw the young Uchiha paralyzed with fear.

"Get away from me you creep!.."Sasuke instantly felt colder.

Orochimaru put his foot in the door as quick as he could, Sasuke would never be able to match his speed. The door slammed half open half closed the force of Orochimaru's foot hit the door with a bang leaving both Sasuke and the cursed man stood in silence…

Naruto came home late that night after a little light shopping trying to replace the essentials that Sasuke and the blonds needed to live with.

"I wish Sasuke told me about that letter..i feel like there is little trust in are relationship.." Naruto sighs loudly..

"Maybe he will open up to me once everything is safe again.." the blond staggers up the stairs light on his feet feeling like 100 pounds has hit him..

"I told you I'll be back didn't I young one.." Orochimaru said with a deep hissing voice, like poison spraying on children's dreams.

Sasuke took a deep breath at a loss of words, afraid this man would hurt him and the dreams he had have where to come true in his safe reality.

"Stay away from me Orochimaru, Naruto will be back soon and I want you know where near him" Sasuke said in fear as the light fluttered on and off in tune to the snakes hissing.

"Well maybe u should keep your safe haven a little safer than what your use to ey little one" Orochimaru said on the sly.

"Doesn't u think you're a little bit too old for these games" a woman stranger said while walking in to the light.

The woman had black tinted red hair that went down to her waist, with wise onyx eyes and red lipstick on; she had a tight leather dress on with knee high converse.

"Who asked for your opinion vermin" Orochimaru practically screamed obviously scared of this woman but not showing it.

"Don't you think it's time for little brother to find out who I am..?" the stranger asked.

Sasuke could only think of one person the voice matches and the way she called him little brother only one person has ever called him that…but she's dead it can't be.

"Hello little brother long time no sees" the woman said.

"Don't you remember me? I'm Amaya your old friend, not seen each other in a while?" Amaya said with a childish grin and a glint of pride in her eyes meeting her old friend again, the eyes of a wise person who has seen it all, not like the eyes Sasuke is use too. As you could say almost murderous.

"What? How? It… just can't be…" Sasuke manage to slip through his lips looking wide eyed at the young beauty.

Amaya looked quite happy seeing Sasuke, old feeling of excitement rushing back which she hasn't felt since she left Valon hahahaha god they have a lot of catching up to do.

"Well Sasuke would you like to come with me… I'm not really giving you a choice but I found it funny to ask" Amaya asked with her hand out to Sasuke.

Sasuke took her had willingly "yes ill come" afraid that his little body couldn't take on the two hench looking dudes behind him, I wonder what Amaya is capable of she looks so weak but there is a strong sense of power around her.

Amaya led Sasuke down the stairs Orochimaru stayed behind to deal with Naruto when he comes running home.

"SASUKEEEEE!" Naruto cried rushing up the stairs trying figure out what the dam hell is going on.

"Naruto its ok Amaya is an old friend I am trying to figure out why she is working with Orochimaru and I want to see and try and believe her side of the story… come with us, Orochimaru is waiting outside the flat for you but if you come with us you will be safe"

"Come we will be staying in this building, I am currently living on first floor it's not as big as your apartment but I like it" Amaya said simply.

They ended up on first floor where there was only 3 doors which where flats the other doors where cupboards.

Amaya walked towards the middle door Sasuke and Naruto followed her lead towards the door. Amaya took out her sliver necklace on the end of her necklace was a unusual looking key. The key had patterns of butterflies and cherry blossoms on the handle and a chunky jagged end that fitted the door.

"This way guys" Amaya said as she raced ahead in to what seemed to be her living room.

"Well boys, where should I start? Hum" Amaya sat down on a red leather couch.

The couch was carved with numerals on the side and pictures of a guy in a mask slaughtering people on the arms of the chair. The seat was leather dyed wine red which complimented the deep purple walls of the small cramped room.

"Well Amaya why don't you start at the beginning where most stories start" Sasuke said irritated by her dumb speech.

Amaya smile in a sly way and then broke down into fits laughing "HAHAHA…! Don't start with the attitude Uchiha I have you as my captives don't PUSH ME!..." she instantly had her hand round the Uchiha's neck expressionless.

Naruto stayed quiet for a long time because of the painful nails Sasuke-kun was digging in his arm making sure he would just keep his mouth shut and do as they say….he knew this was important for him and his Sasuke to find out.

"HEY! LEAVE HIM ALONE! YOU REALLY DON'T WANT TO SEE ME ANGRY…?!" Naruto shouted into Amaya's face, the contact of someone being close startled her a little but she soon released her grip and became aware of how much chakra Naruto had… The workings of a plan started in her head.

Sasuke gasped trying to get his lungs full of oxygen again but he just started panting really hard.

"Tell me… t...h...e… story…then… I'm not… here to be… harassed…." Sasuke panted and stuttered the words out.

"As I was saying… well it all started when I was 13 years old I went on a journey with my dad who as you know is a scientist, the project he was working on is called Laser Bissell which is a medicine. We travelled all over the world to talk to people about it but in an open talk demonstration in japan Tokyo something bad happened. A man in a mask showed up in a flash and stabber my dad repeatedly in the heart, lungs and stomach. The masked man took the medicine and just as he was about to beam off again or something I jumped and grasped the bottom of the cloak."

Amaya looked straight at a cacti plant on the small window pane, not showing any hurt emotion or anything.

"Well it was pretty weird in a blink of an eye I let go of the cloak and ended up in sky obviously I fell… straight down through the clouds… one I got through the clouds there was just blue everywhere I looked there was blue… I realised once I hit the ground I will land in the sea and die… there was no hope for me… the force of hitting the water was too strong and even if I survived that at the time I didn't know how to swim…so I would drown a horrible death. I saw a guy in a speed boat he was travelling out to sea I tried shouting, screaming trying to get him to notice me it worked… he travelled straight for me not sure what his plan was going to be but well it was at least a hope."

"I realised he was shouting at me… it was hard making out what he said with the wind against my ears but I realised he was telling me to go in to a dive position… I've seen divers on my television when I was watching the Olympics games.. I tried my hardest to be straight and I went into the water, not a big splash or anything but enough to hear water pop my ears."

"I tried my hardest to get to the surface obviously it was in everyone to survive when in danger of dying, a survival instinct I guess…? I managed to struggle to the surface my nose and tonsils hurt from the salt water.

I tried looking for the boat but I couldn't find one all I heard was me splashing in the water, my heart beat in my ears and all of a sudden I heard a big splash like someone cannoned balled the water. It wasn't me so my only logic is that it was the guy who was sailing the boat. I didn't know that at the time until I felt someone lye me on my back and told me not to struggle I didn't and was pulled to rescue by the young man."

Naruto snorted "soooo… you abducted us so you could tell us about 'how you nearly died'? God! You're such a taboo child!"

Sasuke punched Naruto hard…he finally shut up.

"Hahahaha you are brave young one but no this isn't even the slightest bit the important part… I was gonna tell you the entire story detailed but well you have just annoyed me off to the fullest" Amaya bit her lip.

"Can't you just say the story short? I mean just the facts I am supposed to know because I really need to get my apartment refurbished." Naruto complained.

"Well… ok then I will tell you the story short, but in future when you both beg me to tell you the story in detailed I won't do it… no matter how much you beg."

"Well medicine called Laser Bissell dad die, guy in a mask got taken to a different dimension called yu-gi-oh world, guy who saved me called Valon, guy in mask called Madara Uchiha who used the Laser Bissell to cure his evil friend Tobi Uchiha, Tobi Uchiha killed Valon's younger sister, Valon is the one who injured Tobi Uchiha in first place by an unknown drug, Valon saved me and told me everything… I made new friends and joined the Britannia Alliance where we try and stop both Uchiha's taking over the world… we killed them and Orochimaru showed up, we made a deal and tried to help him. His problem is your brother Itachi Uchiha who has taken Tobi's and Madara's eyes and removed his own because the power in his eyes where dying and needed new ones. In conclusion Itachi killed your father and a few years ago butchered your clan. Orochimaru assigned us to stop his evil and also stop him taking over the world. The end." Amaya smirked and then looked at Sasuke's expression.

"Well don't beg me for details I'm actually here for your help Sasuke… I'm not sure what Orochimaru has been doing to you till now but I'm now head of this operation and I need you to join me… you too Naruto I can sense power in you…" Amaya asked almost wined, clearly needing our help.

Sasuke just clenched his teeth and bowed his head onto his lap. Naruto rubbed his back making sure that Sasuke knew he would support him with whatever his decision is.

"Hey old lady? do you mind if we go home fix the house and give you our answer another time… we need to think this through yanno… some time for are heads together that would be great."

"Ok, ill at least give you that… on the other hand do you need any cash to fix it up, I mean Seen the state of it bulls make much less going through a china shop. What the hell happened?" she asked confused.

"Don't you know all ready? THAT SNAKE OROCHIMARU DID THIS! He left a THREAT NOTE to Sasuke!" Naruto exploded at the question…

"I know he's a snake but I made a deal… Up until now I was second in command but now I'm now the top dog, How about I make a deal? I'll give you money for your apartment and safety from Orochimaru… I'll put him in confinement until both of you decide you decision of joining me… …is that a deal?"

"We have a deal" Naruto said as he handed out his hand to Amaya, the shook hands and Naruto and Sasuke went upstairs back to their apartment. Orochimaru was nowhere I sight...


End file.
